My Path, My Ride - Deanna Mayles

Personally, mountain biking has always been a tool for freedom, adventure, and discovery in my life. A few years before my first bike race, I moved to Tucson, Arizona from Cleveland, Ohio. I bought a mountain bike and quickly found myself drawn to exploring Arizona. I loved riding long distances and discovering hidden trails in the deserts, canyons, and forests. For the first couple of years, mountain biking was about the thrill of a new challenge and the joy of exploration. Learning the skills, navigating unfamiliar terrain, and seeing a state I was still getting to know laid the foundation for a lifelong love of the sport.

Racing added a new dimension to my relationship with the bike. Initially encouraged by my SRAM coworkers to try an event in 2020, I quickly caught the racing bug. By 2022, I fully committed to giving bike racing a go, unexpectedly landing on the podium at a USA National Championship and the unique opportunity to race internationally at a televised World Cup in Val di Sole, Italy, all within my first full calendar. I like to say I “tripped” into bike racing by taking on incrementally bigger and bigger events until I was suddenly on a world stage and had BIG personal goals in a short period of time.

Building on that momentum, I applied to the Life Time Grand Prix (LTGP) in 2023, the premier off-road race series in the U.S. bringing together some of the toughest mountain bike and gravel events in the world. Standing on the start lines, I felt a mix of thrill and anxiety, sizing up a field of lifelong racers with years of experience I didn’t yet have. Each race was full of unpredictability and split-second decisions that could make or break the day. Crossing the finish line, whether in the Top 10 or simply achieving my personal best, brought a rush of relief, pride, and exhilaration that reminded me why I was doing this racing thing.

I recently completed my 3rd year in the LTGP, tackling events like Unbound Gravel 200 and Leadville 100 MTB multiples of times. These long, grueling events truly challenged my mindset, dedication, and the willingness to push beyond what I thought was possible. Through them, I discovered confidence in myself and in my ability to tackle enormous goals and learned that progress isn’t measured only by wins or podiums. It’s in the journey - the discipline to show up, the persistence to push limits, and the quiet satisfaction of improving day by day. Today, training has become a form of meditation where I can focus on myself, the rhythm of my pedals, and the trail ahead. For me, I find balance, self-fulfillment, confidence, and a deep enjoyment that goes beyond competition.

As I reflect on the successes I’ve had on the bike over the past few years, I am most proud that they have come alongside a fulfilling career as a woman in engineering. Before entering the cycling industry in 2019, I spent three years as a test engineer at the Caterpillar Tucson Proving Grounds where I tested, validated, and managed developmental mining trucks. About the size of a 2-story house with tires taller than a person, these early prototype machines were being assembled and operated for the first time. My main duties were to run field tests, manage the installation of data acquisition sensors, and collect performance data to share with off-site design engineers. I would analyze the results, troubleshoot mechanical and electrical problems, and manage the day-to-day of the truck and the people supporting its development. It was a hands-on, hard hat / steel toe boots-type of job that developed my technical and problem-solving skills.

This experience ultimately gave me the foundation to pivot into the cycling industry. In college, I had dreamed of combining my passions for engineering, adventure, and bikes. I eventually found a role as a reliability engineer at SRAM that aligned with my vision and bult on my previous experience. Test engineers discover how machines perform and fail, while reliability engineers use that data to predict failures, prevent problems, and improve long-term performance - ensuring products operate safely and reliably over time.